Tray

ABSTRACT

A tray suitable for formation from thermoplastic resin capable of containing a multiplicity of frustro-conical containers is provided. Adequate strength to resist lateral and longitudinal compression and to resist twisting distortion is provided by a system of webs which constitute a girder structure with the walls and bottom of the tray. The whole is so formed as to provide easy access to the contents while retaining such contents in a desired stable relationship, one with the other. The tray is adapted to modification for packaging and dispensing of two or more different types of contents in an attractive arrangement suitable for serving, e.g., for concurrently serving of individual cream and sugar portions in aircraft and the like.

United States atent 1191 Florian 51 Sept. 16, 1975 73 Assignee: Mobiloil Corporation, New York,

[22] Filed: Nov. 15, 1973 [21] App]. No.: 416,337

[52] U.S. Cl. 220/23.8; 206/72; 229/25 [51} Int. Cl. B65D 1/36; A47G23/06 [58] Field of Search 220/23.8; 229/25; 206/72;

Primary E.raminerGeorge E. Lowrance Attorney, Agent, or FirmC. A.Huggett 5 7 ABSTRACT A tray suitable for formation from thermoplasticresin capable of containing a multiplicity of frustro-conical containersis provided. Adequate strength to resist latera] and longitudinalcompression and to resist twisting distortion is provided by a system ofwebs which constitute a girder structure with the walls and bottom ofthe tray. The whole is so formed as to provide easy access to thecontents while retaining such contents in a desired stable relationship,one with the other. The tray is adapted to modification for packagingand dispensing of two or more different types of contents in anattractive arrangement suitable for serving, e.g., for concurrentlyserving of individual cream and sugar portions in aircraft and the like.

1 Claim, 6 Drawing Figures FIG-6 PATENTEB qEP l 97 m. I k:

TRAY

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is concerned with packagingand dispensing of individual portions of food products, particularlythose of liquid or semi-liquid nature. Such items as individualone-ounce portions of coffee cream, portions for individual serving ofyogurt or ice cream, and many other like products, are packaged infrustoconical containers adapted to rest on the small circular end as abottom and be consumed after removal of a circular cover from the largecircular end. This is an arrangement of lessened stability since thesmall bottom end renders the container relatively easily upset andsubject to leakage if the cover fits imperfectly.

The covers are generally of chipboard or plastic adapted to be receivedin a groove on the inner surface of the container adjacent the top orclamp about the top by means of skirt about the periphery of the cover.The containers are filled and closed by automatic machinery subject tominor malfunction and the elements to be fitted (container and closure)are also subject to imperfection arising from defects in material ormalfunction of the machinery by which they were formed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART Packaging of these containers has been, ofnecessity, carefully planned and executed to avoid upset of thecontainers during shipping and dispensing. This has been achieved bymeans which do not provide attractive appearance and hence, may not besatisfactorily used for serving the individual portions.

Typically, the frustro-conical containers are packaged in chipboard orcardboard cartons with the wide, covered end up. Probability ofaccidental upset can be reduced by packaging in cartons which tightlyfit the number of containers to be packaged. This, of course, rules outmachine filling of the cartons. An insert, of chipboard or the like. maybe provided with round openings approximating diameter of the containerat points intermediate their ends and thus provide added stabililty tothe package.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a lustrous. attractivetray for packaging a multiplicity of individual food portions in stablerelationship for shipment after an overwrap is applied to the open upperportion of the tray. Upon removal of the overwrap, the packageconstitutes an attractive service tray filled with the food product tobe so dispensed. The tray is formed to provide an individual cell foreach frustro-conical container. which cell is slightly larger than thecontainer and provided with guidance surfaces for the container tofacilitate machine filling. By reason of the stability so provided, anumber of filled trays may be stacked one upon the other to a desiredheight. The trays are so formed that they nest snugly within each otherto reduce bulk when empty.

The individual cells are completely surrounded by surfaces of the trayonly for a minor portion of the cell height to provide ready fingeraccess to individual containers and for a strengthening effect presentlyto be discussed.

In one preferred embodiment. illustrated in the drawings annexed hereto,the tray is adapted to shipping and dispensing of individual one-ounceportions of coffee cream in frustro-conical containers and individualoneteaspoon portions of sugar in envelopes.

THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 of the annexed drawings is a perspective view of atray according to this invention for shipping and dispensing one-dozencoffee cream portions and onedozen sugar portions;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the tray of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial section on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a partial section on line 55 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the tray shown in FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The exemplary tray shown in thedrawings is, as stated, adapted for shipping and dispensing machinefilled individual servings of coffee cream and sugar. As such, it isparticularly well adapted to use in serving coffee on aircraft where anysaving of time for the busy stewardesses is of major importance. Thetray is readily filled by automatic machinery or by hand, an overwrap ofplastic film is applied, and a desired number of such packages are setabroad the aircraft in stacked relation. To use, the stewardess stripsthe overwrap from a package and presents it to the passengers as aserving tray.

In order that the tray of this invention be suitable for discard after asingle use, it is preferably formed of relatively inexpensive substancesuch as foamed plastic, molded fiber pulp and the like. Also, it ispreferred that the tray be susceptible of formation by high-speed,automatic machinery as known in the foamed plastic and molded pulp arts.Such high-speed, automatic equipment is most economically designed witheach mold being in one piece, cooperating male and female molds forfoamed plastic or screen molds for pulp. These considerations imposecertain severe constraints on permissible forms of the molded article.

It is a principal object of the invention to provide a package,particularly for foods, which is readily fabricated of such low costmaterials having substantial'heat insulating qualities on automatic,high-speed machinery. It is a further object that the open package, assupplied for filling and closing shall be nestable in the sense that alarge number of empty packages can be stacked together, each within thecavities of an adjacent carton, such that the volume occupied is verylittle more than the sum of the thicknesses of walls of the packages.Such nesting results in major economies in shipping and storage. It is afurther object that the empty packages be readily denested; that is, theempty packages in a stack should be capable of easy, rapid and uniformlysmooth removal from the stack at either end for convenience and low costof the filling and closing operation.

The invention has, as additional objects, a rugged structure resistantto mechanical damage. It is intended that the package may be totallyenclosed by films or like which protect the contents.

In addition to the constraints imposed by nature of the moldingtechnique, it will be appreciated that a tray for the present purposesmust have strengths which render it reliable in the intended uses. Itmust have adequate resistance to lateral, longitudinal and diagonalcompression to protect the contents during transfer from filling stationto supply depot, as at an airport, and

from supply depot to point of use. The tray must also have highresistance to force tending to twist the same about a lateral,longitudinal or diagonal axis tie. it must not be prone to hinge' on anysuch axis) that it can be used as a serving tray extended to an airlinepassenger when grasped by a stewardess at a side, an end,

or a corner.

These strength requirements in an article subject to the constraintsdiscussed above pose an interesting cngineering problem. According tothe present invention, that problem is solved by providing certainspecific girder elements of confining surfaces for the articlescontained in the tray and interconnecting webs to strengthen thestructure as a whole.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention are embodied ina combined cream and sugar package/serving tray formed of polystyrenefoam as illustrated by the annexed drawings.

As seen in FIG. 1, the exemplary tray provides six cells for receipt ofsix individual one-ounce cream servings on each side of a centrallydisposed bin 11 adapted to receive single serving envelopes of sugar;generally twelve sugar envelopes, equivalent to the twelve creamservings in the tray. A rim 12, extending about the top periphery of thetray, provides a strengthening flange in the nature of a right anglebeam with respect to the walls 13 of cells 10 and the end walls 14defining the ends of bin 11. This beam provides a large measure ofresistance to distortion under stresses parallel to the flange 12.Stresses having a component vector normal to the plane of flange 12 arecounteracted and the resistance to stresses parallel to flange 12 isenhanced by structure intermediate the cells 10.

Side walls 13 of cells 10 are generally arcuate in horizontal sectionand sloped to diverge from the center lines of the cells in an upwarddirection as shown. The lines of junction of such walls 13 with cellbottoms 15 provide beam effects that cause the cells to individuallyretain their integrity against distorting forces. In addition, posts 16are formed between adjacent cells 10 to retain the frustroconicalcontainers in place in the cells 10.

Intermediate posts 16 and between certain posts 16 (namely those spacedone cell diameter from flange l2) and the outer extremes of walls 13 arewebs 17. The webs are constituted by layers of the polystyrene foamwhich separate to become two distinct divergent layers at a saddle 18intermediate the extremity of each web 17. To achieve their full purposeof strengthening the tray. the saddles 18 of webs 17 must be spacedsubstantially below the flange 12 and the tops of posts 16 andsubstantially above the bottom of the tray as typified by bottom 15 of acell 10.

The posts 16 preferably terminate at an upper level lying in the planeof the upper surface of flange 12. Generally the tray will be so formedwith reference to the containers to be packaged therein that thecontainers will extend at least some measure above the upper surface offlange l2. Filled packages will thus be readily loaded and contentsreadily removed because rims of the containers project above the tray.Such containers have great strength against stresses parallel to theaxes of the containers and will provide the strength for verticalstacking of filled trays in which the bottom of one tray rests on topsof containers packaged in the next tray therebclow. It will be seen thatposts 16 may have their upper termination below the level of uppersurface of flange 12, but above saddle 18. A less desirable arrwwpcmenthas posts 16 extending to a higher level than lange 12. This can lead tounstable stacking of filled trays when the frustro-conical containersextend to the same level as. or only slightly above. flange 12.

It will be seen that the invention provides a useful tray for packing,storing, transporting and dispensing individual servings of food infrustro-conical containers. The novel tray is readily formed in andreleased from molds of conventional high-speed automatic moldingmachinery and nests snugly in stacks for minimum space requirements forstorage and shipping of unfilled trays. The filled trays areconveniently stacked for storage and transport and provide stablereliable trays for service under conditions which may make it expedientfor the server to grasp the tray by one side, one end or a corner.

Although the invention has been here illustrated as embodied in acombination tray for cream and sugar, it will be understood that theprinciples there embodied may be utilized in single purpose trays forpackaging and dispensing only frustro-conical containers or to othermultiple purpose trays. The invention may be applied to any suchstructure having at least two adjacent cells for receipt offrustro-conical containers thus permitting use of a web 17 characterizedby a saddle 18.

The invention is particularly effective for trays to receive at leastfour frustro-conieal containers, whereby the four cells will be arrangedin a pattern in which the axes of the cells define corners of a square,permitting use of four webs 17 and associated saddles 18 arranged in twolines of two webs each, the lines being at right angles to each other.

I claim:

1. A one piece foamed plastic tray for transportation, storage anddispensing of different articles including frustro-conical containersdisposed to rest on the small end and having an upper large end open forfilling and discharge of contents; said tray being formed to provide acentrally disposed bin portion and two cell portions, one on each sideof said bin portion;

a. a flange extending outwardly about the upper periphery of said tray;

b. said bin portion comprising a generally rectangular bottom wall andside walls integral with said bottom wall extending upwardly andoutwardly therefrom, two of which side walls are integral at the upperedge thereof with said flange and two of which adjacent said cellportions extend upwardly to posts having an upper surface in the planeofsaid flange and which are interrupted between said posts ashereinafter recited with respect to walls of cells;

c. each of said cell portions comprising a plurality of cells eachhaving a flat circular bottom wall in the plane of the bottom wall ofsaid bin portion and side walls which diverge upwardly from said bot tomwall to posts having an upper surface in the plane of said flangeinterrupted by openings between adjacent cells and between said binportion and cells adjacent thereto by openings upwardly from a pointintermediate said bottom wall and the upper surface of said posts;

d. and webs of foamed plastic constituted by the pertions of said sidewalls of adjacent cells and of said bin portion below said interruptionsconnected across their upper edges to provide girders which affordstrength to the tray,

each of said cell portions having at least four cells, the same beingarranged in a pattern in which the axes of four adjacent cells definethe corners of a square.

1. A one piece foamed plastic tray for transportation, storage anddispensing of different articles including frustro-conical containersdisposed to rest on the small end and having an upper large end open forfilling and discharge of contents; said tray being formed to provide acentrally disposed bin portion and two cell portions, one on each sideof said bin portion; a. a flange extending outwardly about the upperperiphery of said tray; b. said bin portion comprising a generallyrectangular bottom wall and side walls integral with said bottom wallextending upwardly and outwardly therefrom, two of which side walls areintegral at the upper edge thereof with said flange and two of whichadjacent said cell portions extend upwardly to posts having an uppersurface in the plane of said flange and which are interrupted betweensaid posts as hereinafter recited with respect to walls of cells; c.each of said cell portions comprising a plurality of cells each having aflat circular bottom wall in the plane of the bottom wall of said binportion and side walls which diverge upwardly from said bottom wall toposts having an upper surface in the plane of said flange interrupted byopenings between adjacent cells and between said bin portion and cellsadjacent thereto by openings upwardly from a point intermediate saidbottom wall and the upper surface of said posts; d. and webs of foamedplastic constituted by the portions of said side walls of adjacent cellsand of said bin portion below said interruptions connected across theirupper edges to provide girders which afford strength to the tray, eachof said cell portions having at least four cells, the same beingarranged in a pattern in which the axes of four adjacent cells definethe corners of a square.